


monsoon season

by Fatale (femme)



Series: Flash Bang #1 - Bingo (Team Green) [10]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Canon Universe, M/M, post-episode s3e10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-04-28 00:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14437839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/femme/pseuds/Fatale
Summary: Alec frowns as he follows the light bobbing across the graveyard.Tumblr/Twitter prompts and flashfic. Pairings and prompts in chapter titles.





	1. malec, au, graveyard meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Bingo Square: Graveyard Meeting

 

 

Alec frowns as he follows the light bobbing across the graveyard. Goddamn kids, always breaking in for stupid shit: smoking pot, making out, midnight satanic rituals.

Basically, he’s given minimum wage to babysit headstones. It’s boring, kind of embarrassing as far as college jobs go, but it helps him pay for his textbooks, which cost a fucking fortune. It requires no expertise beyond being reasonably big and intimidating and grouchy, which all fit Alec pretty well.

Irritated at having Tetris interrupted, he stomps across the damp grass, makes a sharp right at the weeping angel and nearly stumbles over a dark shape.

“Don’t shoot!” the shape says, raising both arms in surrender.

“I don’t have a gun,” Alec says flatly. The man is decently tall, ridiculously good-looking, and dressed all in black. God, why do all the weird ones have to be so hot?

“You’re wearing a uniform,” the man points out.

“I only have a flashlight and a shitty attitude,” Alec tells him. “Stop whatever crazy stuff you’re doing and get out of here.”

The man lowers his arms hesitantly. “I just got off work, so I was visiting my mom,” he says, pointing at a small marble headstone. It’s not grand like all of the others, but it’s intricately carved with small flowers, all hand done with patience and care. Someone loved her very much.

Alec sighs. Oh, hell. He’s being an asshole again. Izzy says that if he keeps scowling, his face is going to get permanently stuck that way. That may be true, but he hasn’t had much reason for happiness lately. It seems a shame to spread that misery around, though.

“Okay,” he says, “you can visit for a while, but you have to go soon. You’re not supposed to be here after hours. I could lose my job if anyone finds out.”

“I don’t want to get you into trouble,” the man says softly. He sits down next to the grave marker, hands loose on his knees, comfortable, like he spends a lot of time in graveyards. He probably does; Alec’s life is surreal. “I won’t be long.”

“It’s fine,” Alec says. “It’s a crappy job anyway.”

“Well, sit down and take a load off,” the man says, patting the ground next to him.

Alec looks around to make sure it’s empty, but yup, they’re the only two weird fuckers hanging around a graveyard at midnight. He sits down.

“I’m Magnus.”

“Alec.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Magnus says and makes a face. “I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“Meet a lot of guys this way?” Alec asks, distracted. He flushes when he realizes what he said.

Magnus seems amused. “You’d be surprised. But you’re by far the best looking.”

It’s probably the nicest compliment a complete creep has ever paid him. “Uh, thanks? So, why nighttime? Why not just come before work?

Magnus picks a blade of grass and rolls it between his fingers, looking at it thoughtfully. “I come here at night because I think it’s easier to communicate with the dead.”

“And do the dead talk to you?”

“No,” Magnus says, “but I wish they would.”

“What would you ask them?” Alec asks, curious despite himself. When he got dressed this afternoon, he did not think this is where his night would end up. It’s exciting in a new and incredibly strange way.

And here, Magnus pauses.

“You don’t have to answer.”

Finally, Magnus says, “I would ask them why they left.”

“I’m sure they didn’t just leave you,” Alec says a little awkwardly. He doesn’t know. People seem to always be leaving him, too. First his father, who left his mother and their family; then Jace and Izzy, who left for college; each person taking tiny little pieces of him along with them until he’s left with what he is now: brittle and alone and reaching out to a total stranger in the middle of the night.

“Feels like it,” Magnus says.

“Yeah, sometimes it does,” Alec agrees. The damp is creeping into his clothes, clinging to his skin, and he shivers, but he’s unwilling to leave Magnus alone. Not again. So, he talks.

He tells Magnus about the time he fell off his bike and busted up his face, leaving the faint white slash in his eyebrow. He tells Magnus about the fight he and Jace had, the first of many. When they were little kids, they fought over a stuffed bunny and in the end, he gave it to Jace because he felt like they would both be happier that way.

“Very Solomon of you,” Magnus says.

“I’m a wise and benevolent ruler,” Alec says, sweeping his arm over the expanse of the graveyard, quiet and still.

Magnus starts telling Alec about growing up in Indonesia, about the beaches, the jungles, the way he watched the sunrise every day over the cassava fields and held his breath, half-afraid the sun wouldn’t come up that morning.

“Why were you afraid?” Alec asks.

“Not sure. I guess I’ve always been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing good ever lasts.”

“I don’t know,” Alec says, looking at Magnus. He hadn’t realized it, but hours have passed, and the first faint hint of blush is kissing the sky. “I think some things can.”

Magnus looks back at him. “Maybe they can,” he says as they watch the dawn break over the horizon.

 


	2. malec, leaves, post 3x10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post episode 3x10. Here be spoilers. 
> 
> @beyondshadows14 prompted: Malec + leaves

 

Magnus stares out the window and sips his tea. Autumn in New York used to be his favorite time of the year, but that was before he gave up his magic, before the number of autumns he would see became a fixed, finite thing.

“You know I hate waking up alone,” Alec says, coming into the room and pulling a shirt on. He hisses as he raises his arms, body still sore from his fight with Jace. Other parts hurt too, but time will heal those. Time always does. Alec’s hair is messy and there are creases in his cheek left over from the pillow. He’s shamblingly graceful, all coltish legs and wide shoulders, headstrong youth juxtaposed with flickers of unexpected wisdom and shocking kindness.

“What were you thinking about?” Alec asks. “You looked deep in thought.”

Magnus could change the subject or misdirect, but he’s tired and he nearly lost Alec yet again. Life is full of unpleasant surprises.

Alec comes up behind him and hooks his chin on his shoulder. Life is full of lovely surprises too, Magnus reminds himself, leaning back against Alec's firm chest. And Alec is the very best kind of surprise.

“The leaves are turning colors,” Alec says. “They’re going to be dropping soon.” He sounds somber, sad, clearly thinking along the same lines as Magnus earlier. "I guess we should pay more attention, enjoy the seasons."

Mind made up, Magnus sets his tea down, turns in Alec’s arms, and wraps his hands around his waist. “Why wouldn't I,” Magnus murmurs, “when I get to spend them with you?”

 


End file.
